Strasbourg, 12.11.2013 – PACE’s Social Affairs Committee has urged governments to conclude “an ambitious global agreement” to tackle climate change by setting a target of a 20 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, delivered through national laws.

Approving a report by John Prescott (United Kingdom, SOC), the committee urged a “mixed top-down and bottom-up approach” in which national pledges should be reviewed at global level, with countries reporting annually on progress as part of an international process.

“Exceeding the threshold of a global rise in temperature by 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels would be disastrous,” the parliamentarians warned. “The clock is ticking and the cost of inaction is growing.”